Survival jacket



July 18, 1961 1.0. RQBERGE SURVIVAL JACKET Filed March 3l, 1959 MAI/M1111@ e wia, MDM .m MQW 4 /MM e E United States Patent O M' 2,992,433 SURVIVAL JACKET Joseph 0. Roberge, Stead Air Force Base, Nev. (4055 S. Virginia, Reno, Nev.) Filed Mar. 31, 1959, Ser. No. 803,290 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-94) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in garments, and in particular the invention concerns itself with a garment such as may be used by flyers, sportsmen and various other civilians or by military personnel who, because of an accident or some other emergency, are faced with the necessity of surviving in a wilderness.

The principal object of the invention `is to provide a garment which is provided with built-in items of equipment essential for survival, such items being arranged in an unobtrusive manner and secured within the structure of the garment so that they cannot become lost, yet may be readily located and used in the event of an emergency.

An important feature of the invention, therefore, resides in the provision of a survival garment having a plurality of closed pockets containing sealed envelopes with items of survival equipment therein, the Walls of the garment consisting of two layers of material forming the pockets therebetween, and continuous lines of stitching securing the material layers together to perimetrically define the individual pockets whereby the sealed envelopes in the pockets are secured and cannot be lost or removed except by removal of the stitching or by slitting or otherwise breaking through the pocket forming layers of the garment walls.

Another important feature of the invention resides in forming the vacuum sealed envelopes from Waterproof material so that the items of survival equipment contained therein do not become damaged if the lvest is subjected to water or other forms of moisture, while another important feature resides in the provision of packing material which constitutes wrapping means for the items of survival equipment in the envelopes and, at the same time, lends the characteristics of padding, insulating, cushioning and buoyancy to the garment as a whole.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, dependable operation, and in its adaptability to convenient and economical manufacture and embodiment in garments of various different sizes and types.

With the foregoing more important objects and features in view of such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and wherein:

FIGURE l is a front elevational view of a survival garment embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevational view of the same, shown partly in section to reveal its construction; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail on an enlarged scale, taken substantially in the plane of the line 4 4 in FIGURE 3.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the survival garment in accordance with the invention is designated generally by the reference numeral and, in the instance illustrated, is in the form of a vest having the usual neck opening 11, arm openings 12, and an openable front closed by a slide fastener 13, the front portion of the garment being provided with the usual pockets 14 having closure flaps 15 secured by suitable fasteners 16.

In accordance with the invention, the garment 10 has its walls composed of two superposed thicknesses or layy 2,992,433 Patented .luly 18, 1961 lCe ers of material, as indicated at 17, 1S in FIGURE 4, this material preferably being moisture resistant fabric, or vthe like. Endless lines of stitching 19 are provided to secure the layers 17, 18 together in such manner as to deiine a plurality of pockets 20 therebetween. These pockets are located substantially uniformly throughout the garment and since the lines of stitching are endless or continuous perimetrically of each individual pocket, the pockets are fully closed.

Each of the pockets 20 contains an envelope 21 of waterproof material such as plastic, or the like, which, in turn, contains an item of survival equipment, indicated at 22. The item 22 is wrapped in a filler of padding material 23, such as cotton, for example, which not only protects the item 22 against physical damage, and constitutes padding Within the envelope but also may be used for fire starting fuel. After the survival item is wrapped in the padding material, it is then placed in the envelope '21, which is hermetically sealed along its marginal edges as indicated at 21a, and air is preferably exhausted from the envelope during the sealing operation.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the items of survival equipment contained in the several envelopes in the several pockets are securely embodied in the structure of the garment so that they cannot become lost or misplaced, and also, so that they are protected by the waterproof envelopes against damage by moisture, and by the padding material against damage by physical injury. However, in the event of an emergency, the items of equipment become readily accessible by simply removing the stitching of the pockets at marginal edges of the garment in instances where the pockets extend to such marginal edges, or by simply slitting or otherwise breaking through either of the pocket forming Walls .17, 18 and extracting the envelopes 21 from the pockets, whereupon the items of equipment may be removed by unsealing or breaking the envelopes.

It is to be noted that the pockets 20 may be located at the front, back and sides of the garment, as well as within the closure iiaps 15 of the aforementioned pockets 14. Also, while the particular garment illustrated is in the form of a vest, the principles of the invention are also applicable to other types of garments such as trousers, coats, et cetera.

Any number and variety of survival necessities may, of course, be embodied in the garment, such as for example, rope, snare wire, medical supplies, small tools, socks, matches, instruction sheets, signalling equipment, et cetera, and in any event, such articles will be contained in predetermined locations within the garment for use when necessary. If desired, the various pockets may be suitably marked to identify the contents thereof.

While in the foregoing there has been -described and shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure and various modifications may be resorted to, such as may lie within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is:

A survival jacket adapted to encircle the torso of a user, said jacket having a neck opening and a pair of arm openings and including a back portion continuous with a pair of front portions separably connected together at the front of the jacket, said back and front portions consisting of two superposed layers of moisture-resistant fabric material secured together at their marginal edges, lines of stitching extending through the superposed material layers and defining therebetween a plurality of fully closed pockets occupying a substantial area of the back and front portions of the jacket, the lines of stitching defining said pockets being spaced inwardly from the marginal edges of the superposed material layers and the interior of the pockets being accessible only by breaking through at least one of the superposed material layers, hermetically sealed envelopes of waterproof material provided in said pockets and coextensive therewith, and items of emergency survival equipment sealed in said envelopes.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hebs Dec. 3, 1912 Ortman July 29, 1913 Hart Dec. 9, 1924 Johnson May 24, 1938 Nichols Aug. 12, 1952 

